Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship
TECHNOLOGY IN THE WORKPLACE
when we are deeply engaged and focused on a task. This phenomenon is called ‘flow’ and can be associated with feelings of joy, creativity, and deep focus. For some people, it might be easier to find a flow state when they are working from home. For others, home may be a place filled with more distractions. They might prefer to go into the office or work from a café, but they retain the sense of control and the benefits that brings. Fun and joy can also be found in interactions with coworkers. Of course, this is more difficult to find when you are working in your own home. In survey data that I collected during the pandemic, people said that they found their sense of belonging and connection with colleagues at work decreased during lockdown. As with so many things in life, balance and choice are crucial. Despite the evidence in favour of more joy and positive emotions at work, some organisations and managers remain sceptical. In some fields, there may be concerns that joy and fun can be a health and safety risk, or make it difficult to uphold professionalism. And while fun at work can enhance one’s sense of belonging to the organisation, it can also make some feel excluded and alienated, especially if they cannot or don’t wish to participate in social activities or camaraderie. It has even served to exclude women from the upper echelons of financial firms, where progression to leadership positions has hinged on participation in ‘boys club’ social activities. There also seems to be a deeper running concern. For decades, company leaders and managers have strived to enhance productivity, make work
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more effective, and cut costs. Consequently, they may view employees who are having fun at work as not taking the job seriously, or not wanting to work hard. This is very much in line with traditional thinking from the early days of management writers. Frederick Winslow Taylor, a pioneer of management consulting, saw emotions as a distraction from the main goal of work, which was to get the job done as efficiently as possible. The puzzle of balancing the feeling of autonomy and flexibility created by working from home, with the sense of belonging engendered by socialising with colleagues in the office, is likely to take more experimentation with hybrid working to solve. Some companies have already turned away from that experimentation and ordered
workers to return to the office. But the magic doesn’t just happen by putting people in the same place. This is particularly the case when there are so many advantages to working from home. Instead of worrying that joy and fun at work will distract people, managers should know that positive emotions can also make people more creative and motivated. And if you’re struggling at work, try talking to a colleague. Even a short interaction could remind you that you’re part of a team and that finding joy in the workplace is possible.
by David Allen
Read more Core Insights on The Future of Work from Warwick Business School.
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